24 August 1945 - 6 July 1992

Marsha P. Johnson was one of the most prominent figures of the gay rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s in New York City. Always sporting a smile, they were an important advocate for homeless LGBTQIA+ youth, those effected by H.I.V. and AIDS, and gay and transgender rights

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She found solace and community among other LGBTQIA+ individuals and adopted the full name Marsha P. Johnson - the “P” stands for “Pay It No Mind,” which is what Johnson would say in response to questions about her gender.

25 October 1894 - 8 December 1954

Claude Cahun was a Surrealist photographer whose work explored gender identity and the subconscious mind. The artist’s self-portrait from 1928 epitomises her attitude and style, as she stares defiantly at the camera in an outfit that looks neither conventionally masculine nor feminine.

19 October 1945 - 7 March 1988

Born Harris Glenn Milstead in 1945, Divine was called the “Drag Queen of the Century” by People Magazine upon his death in 1988.

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Divine’s influence is everywhere today: from RuPaul’s Drag Race, which dedicated an entire episode to John Waters and Divine in Season 7; to The Little Mermaid, where he served as part of the inspiration for villainess Ursula; to the 2013 documentary I Am Divine. Today, a 10-foot high statue of Divine stands at the American Museum of Visionary Art in Baltimore, and Pink Flamingos in the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

8 January 1947 - 10 January 2016 

Amidst his musical wanderings in the late '60s, the young David Bowie experimented with mixed media, cinema, mime, Tibetan Buddhism, acting and love.

A first rock album, originally titled David Bowie then subsequently re-titled Man of Words, Man of Music and again as Space Oddity, paid homage to the kaleidoscopic influences of the London artistic scene, while hinting at a songwriting talent that was about to yield some of rock n roll's finest and most distinctive work--even if it would take the rest of the world a few years to catch up.

5 September 1946 - 24 November 1991 

Freddie Mercury is arguably one of the most well known rock musicians, yet somehow, many people don’t know he was bisexual. Some assume he was straight by default. Others genuinely believe he was gay. Ultimately, the misconceptions come from two places.

First, the erasure of bisexual people, particularly bisexual men. The second is Mercury’s choice to have a private life as a celebrity, something completely within his right, that also left room for people to make assumptions.

3 June 1906 - 12 April 1975

Thought to be one of the most photographed women of her time, Josephine Baker was a renowned dancer, a singer, a mother, a world war II spy, and bisexual Black woman. Her career illustrates the way entertainers can use their platforms to change the world. 

25 March 1947 

A multiple Grammy-winning legend and flamboyant superstar, Elton is the most enduringly successful singer/songwriter of his generation.

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When Elton is not recording or touring he devotes his efforts to a variety of charities, including his own Elton John AIDS Foundation, which has raised over $450 million and funded programs across four continents in the 24 years it has existed. 

18 February 1934 - 17 November 1992 

The Black feminist, lesbian, poet, mother, warrior Audre Lorde (1934-1992) was a native New Yorker and daughter of immigrants. Both her activism and her published work speak to the importance of struggle for liberation among oppressed peoples and of organising in coalition across differences of race, gender, sexual orientation, class, age and ability

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Lorde challenged the myths and taboos associated with black women, lesbians, and feminists.